Steven Universe: Lightning and Steel
by Protect Your ADC
Summary: AU where the Rose Rebellion spans more than just Earth. With the war in its infancy, Rose Quartz is beginning to get a following. Gems from across the galaxy are rallying to their cause. However, not everyone is ready for the challenges ahead. Garnet has never been a team leader before. Now she has the lives of four Gems in her hands and they're depending on her to lead the way.
1. Chapter 1 - Team Leader

"You want me to do what?"

"Calm down. You'll be fine."

Rose looked down at Garnet with her reassuring, calm demeanor. She was always calm. Nothing ever seemed to faze her. Garnet- or rather, Sapphire and Ruby had been like that. When everything made sense and they weren't wanted insurrectionists. Now, they were something else. Something unheard of and nothing made sense.

"Battalion formation!"

Garnet winced at the order. It was one that she knew all too well. She turned to look below the outcropping she and Rose Quartz stood on. Below them were one thousand Gems running to get into their assigned positions for inspection. A typical formation had Rubies in the front, Onyx towards the back, and Emerald officers stood at the heads of each platoon. This, however, was a different formation. They weren't a standard infantry battalion. They were special, dangerous, elite soldiers of Yellow Diamond.

Loyal soldiers. Beloved by the ones they swore to protect at Homeworld and beyond. Garnet couldn't see a reason for them to leave. At least, not one that put her or the rebellion in danger.

There were five companies and one detachment in the battalion set like a box 'U', facing their commander. To the left and right tips of the 'U' were the vanguard; strong Gems outfitted for charging enemy lines and crushing them with unrelenting might. Behind those were the auxiliary soldiers; archer Gems who were also skilled with sword, shield, and spear. Then in the center were the mages; Gems with devastating magical abilities. But none of them worried Garnet more than the sixth group. Not because of their skill, or power, or the danger they presented. It was the exact opposite.

They weren't soldiers. They were Gems who had fled their worlds in order to try and find a life on Earth. Even their mannerisms weren't like the others. They fidgeted in their spots, looked around nervously, some even seemed ready to run at a simple gust of wind.

"I've never been in charge of a team before."

"And I've never lead a rebellion." Rose put her hand on Garnet's shoulder. "Come on. Let's go get you introduced."

Garnet could hear the commanding Gem giving orders to the company leaders. They were getting accountability done; making sure that no one snuck off in the night. Garnet and Rose walked slowly, giving the Gems time to finish their count and Garnet to ready herself.

The commander was an aquamarine. Aquamarines are brilliant tacticians and strategists who are often put in charge of large formations. Like most of her type, the Gem was tall, slender, and had long sky-blue hair. This one, however, sported a dark blue skirt that reached almost to the ground along with steel armor bearing a yellow diamond on the chest plate. It was common for Gems who were not regular combatants to wear forged armor. Those who were made for fighting, such as Rubies, were naturally tough and armor was uncomfortable and slowed them down. Though, there were soldiers who did wear armor despite the encumbrance.

Aquamarine spun on her heel to face Garnet and Rose. "Greetings, General." She gave Rose a diamond salute but immediately dropped her arms and froze. "Apologies, that was inappropriate." She made a twitch to bow but once again stopped herself.

Rose simply laughed. "It's fine. I just wanted to ask where the marshall is."

"She's off performing some scouting with her lieutenant, Ma'am. In her absence, is there something I can assist you with?" Aquamarine's words were quick and crisp. There was no emotion in her voice aside from urgency.

"Is there a team with whom I can leave my friend here."

Aquamarine gave Garnet a sideways glance. "Her, Ma'am? I'm sure we can find a duty for her in a support role. Perhaps she can assist in the mining operations or even—"

Garnet clenched her fists at Aquamarine's suggestion. It was as she had feared. They hated her. Even though they were now fighting on the same side, for the same reasons, they still held contempt for her because she was different.

"No, of course not," Rose interjected, "I plan on making her a team leader."

There was a brief moment of silence as Aquamarine tried to understand what was being asked of her. "Ma'am, apologies in advance for my ignorance, but I do not understand what is being asked of me."

"I want Garnet to be a team leader."

Another moment of silence. "Allow me to rephrase my previous statement. I do not understand the objective of putting it as a team leader."

_It._

"Garnet will be a commander one day, but as of right now she has no experience being one. Starting as a team leader is the best way to start off. Is there a team that needs one?"

"...Yes," Aquamarine said in her emotionless voice. "Follow me," She said to Garnet.

The soldiers were breaking away now, dismissed by their leaders. Garnet was lead to the back of the formation. The non-combat Gems still had yet to be dismissed. They stayed in their rows, sloppy though they were. Talking to the group was a Citrine. Shorter than Garnet by about a head, the Gem was nonetheless imposing. Her voice was strong and boisterous. On her side was a saber and the shield on her back was marked with the symbol of Yellow Diamond's 3rd Adamant Battalion.

"If you want to join a combat unit make a separate formation to my right, your left. Those of you who remaining will be given different assignments based on previous talents. However, I urge you to take the offer very seriously. We need warriors to bolster our ranks. If we do not have sufficient numbers we will be forced to draft you. It's better to join willingly. Do it now."

The Gems were hesitant to move. They looked around at each other, waiting for someone to be the first. The Citrine walked up to the nearest Gem, a Topaz. "Move over there," She ordered with a point of her finger. The Topaz took a step back. "I said we would be forced to draft should there not be sufficient numbers. You will be the first. If you do not comply, I will have to move you by for—"

"She doesn't want to do it!" Garnet's outburst caught the attention of everyone who could hear. "You can't make her fight if she doesn't want to!"

Citrine turned to Garnet. Unlike Aquamarine, she did not hide her emotions. But she wasn't as angry as she was confused. "Commander, what is this thing?"

"It is the Fusion, Captain. The one favored by Rose Quartz."

Citrine crossed her arms as she glared at Garnet. "And what does it want?"

_It. They keep calling me 'It'. _Garnet clenched her fists tighter. She couldn't let them get the best of her. They would love to see that. To see the her without any control and confirm what they think. That she truly is an abomination.

"Rose Quartz has deemed it necessary to form a team. One with the Fusion as its lead." Citrine was not at all impressed. She started tapping her finger on her arm in annoyance at the request. "I will leave this task in your hands, Captain. See to it that this gets done with precedence." Aquamarine spun on her heel again to leave.

"Take your pick, Fusion," Citrine said as soon as Aquamarine was far enough away. "Enough to make a team. That's four Gems. I suggest you round out your team with different skills. One who's good at close combat. One who—"

"I know how to round a team," Garnet snapped.

Citrine glared her but stayed silent as Garnet looked over the Gems in the formation. So much despair, doubt, and worry in one place. It was an odd feeling. Before they were Garnet, Ruby and Sapphire never had an inkling of the sensation. Everything was as it should be.

After a short time, she had her picks. Citrine didn't make a comment on her picks. She simply ushered them away so that the rest of the Gems could be put into teams. Garnet and her team went to the woodline and out of the sun. First things first, they needed to introduce themselves.


	2. Outfitted

"Stay in your ranks! Be careful of the magma around you. If you fall in, I can't guarantee I can get you out in time."

The inside of the forge was much larger than Garnet had thought.The twenty members of Third Platoon stood in formation as they waited to be fitted for armor and given weapons. One of the bismuth walked past Garnet who stood at the end of her rank. The Gem gave her a quick glance but made no remark.

"Your team!" Yelled a bismuth at Garnet.

"You're up." They proceeded up to the four bismuth, making sure to stay clear of the pools of magma. With Ruby being a former combat oriented Gem, Garnet didn't need to be fitted for the extra defense. Her team, however, needed it sorely.

Fluorite was one of her team. A medium height Gem who had served as a communications engineer back on planet Beta-Alpha, Fluorite had never seen a battle, much like the rest of the Gems in their company. This was one of the concerns raised by the leadership; their Gems' capabilities to fight. Most Gems had very basic knowledge of fighting should the need ever arise, but if they came across even the most common of warriors in Homeworld's army, they wouldn't fair very well.

Garnet stood to the side as she watched her team be measured and fitted. The pyrite twins stood next to each other, holding hands, as a bismuth compared molds of chest plates in different sizes to the pyrites. "You ever fought before," The bismuth asked. She had a large, black star on her left shoulder, the uniform symbol of the crystal gems.

One of the twins, Lefty, said in a quiet voice, "Well, uh—"

"Not you," Bismuth cut off, "I know you haven't. Her."

It took a second for Garnet before realizeing she was being spoken to. "Oh… uh, a few times."

"Where at?"

"Epsilon-Gamma Three-Three and Beta-Alpha Five-Zero"

"A Three and Zero planet," The Bismuth said in surprise, "You must have some stories to tell."

Colonized planets fell under five different security levels. The first, Level 0, stated that there was no security threat and it was a colony with complete loyalty to the diamonds. Having a colony deemed Level 0 was one of the greatest accomplishments a colony governor can achieve.

Level 1 indicated that the planet was peaceful but had yet to reach the standards desired of the diamonds in production, military, or terraformation. Level 2 was the most common security level, with newly colonized planets automatically falling within the level unless deemed otherwise. Earth was one of these. Level 3 planets had creatures on them who posed strong threats to the colonization forces. Lastly, level 4 security was total total blackout; these planets were deemed uncolonizable and were to be left alone.

"And what about you," The Bismuth asked the twins, "What did you do?"

"We were personal servants to a Gold," The left Pyrite said. Garnet- rather, Sapphire could have figured as much. Pyrite shared many similarities in terms of color with Gold Gems. When Sapphire attended courts on other worlds, Golds would have a Pyrite servant accompany them. As a sort of entertainment, the Gold would point out the differences between themselves and a Pyrite, often emphasizing the dull color, lack of gleam, or any other minuscule differences in order to belittle the Pyrite.

"That's a shame. Two beautiful gems like you should never have been servants." Bismuth walked over to a well of lava, her hand turning into a pot, and scooped some out. She poured it into the mold of small chest plates then began forging it on an anvil.

With every *bang* the armor became more and more obvious. It was simple and light, but effective and durable. Maybe in time the Pyrites would be given heavier armor. Against the elite warriors of Homeworld's army, they would surely need it.

With the plates finished, the Bismuth placed them carefully onto the twins; one on the front and one on the back. "They're kind of heavy," the Righty commented.

"It's the price of protection I'm afraid. You'll get used to it. Can I get you over here, Team Leader?"

Garnet met the Bismuth to the side, in front of another set of molds. These were not armor sets. They were weapons. Bismuth asked in a hushed voice, "Are they fast?"

"

No," Garnet answered.

"Are they strong?"

"No."

"Are they-"

"Short spears," Garnet interjected. "They need something simple, something safe."

Bismuth forged the weapons quickly, with the same expert craftsmanship as all she made. The large Gem made a quip about pointing the sharp end towards Homeworld and proudly exclaiming how the Pyrites looked like real warriors now. The Pyrites seemed to light up at the comment, smiling and practically hugging their spears as if it were some young pebble they were raising. But the two veteran Gems knew better.

Bismuth and Garnet met each other's eyes and in a single moment, they had the same thought. These Gems, all of them, were not ready to fight Homeworld.


End file.
